Want to make a roller coaster ride to India even more memorable? The only best way of doing so is to visit some of the most unusual places in India has to offer. You won’t find the charms and warmth of luxury hotels there. You won’t find shopping malls teaming with people there. You won’t find big restaurants offering dishes with fancy names. Instead, you will find stuff that can all be wind up in single words like – miracle, unbelievable, extraordinary, magical and more.

Let us today take a look at the top 5 unusual places India has to offer. If you are a foreigner and planning a tour to India, consider putting these places on top of your list. If you are and Indian, you should invariably visit these places. They are all one-of-a-kind!

Unusual Places in India – 1: God’s Own Garden – Mawlynnong

Mawlynnong in Meghalaya is a small village. It holds the crown of being the cleanest village in entire Asia. No wonder, its cleanliness has earned it the name God’s Own Garden. The village didn’t make itself clean. It is a community effort. Mawlynnog is famous of multiple things. Of course, its cleanliness is one of the things and it is the reason why it is famous for eco-tourism. Though a village, the literacy rate here is 100%. Every individual in this village is fluent in English. The other attractions include a beautiful balancing rock, bridges made of living roots and beautiful waterfalls. You will simply love it.

Unusual Places in India – 2: Living Root Bridges – Cherrapunji

Back again to Meghalaya is a place called Cherrapunji. This is where you will find the Living Root Bridges. As the name suggests, these bridges are made of living secondary roots of trees like rubber tree or banyan fig. These secondary roots are made to grow through trunks of betel tree. The trunks are placed by people across streams and rivers. The roots keep growing through the trunks and eventually reach the other side and attach themselves. The whole bridge building process can take up to 15 years. However, once the bridges are formed, they are strong and sturdy. These bridges can last for several hundred years as long as the trees are healthy. Because the bridges are naturally grown, they keep renewing and strengthening themselves as the roots keep growing thicker and thicker over time.

Unusual Places in India – 3: Village of Snakes – Shetpal

Okay, most of us aren’t great fans of the slithery serpents, especially when they are cobras. This however isn’t the story of Shetpal – a village in Maharashtra’s Sholapur district. Villagers here not only worship snakes but they have a very weird custom. We will call that custom frightening. Every single house in the village has a resting place for cobras. This place is in the rafters of the ceilings. Wondering how many people died of snake bites in the village? NONE! The snakes just move around freely in every single household and also on the streets. You should visit that place.

Unusual Places in India – 4: Village with No Doors – Shani Shingnapur

Imagine a village where residential houses and commercial buildings have no doors. They don’t even have door frames. Villagers here have never experienced crime. UCO Bank operates a branch there which has no locks and it is a bank! Isn’t that incredibly outstanding! This village is called Shani Shingnapur. To reach the village, one has to travel 35 kilometers from Ahmednagar in Maharashtra. This village has a very popular Shani temple. All villagers have immense faith in their god and they have all entrusted their own safety in the hands of Shani Dev.

Unusual Place in India – 5: Floating National Park in Lake Loktak, Manipur

In Manipur, India is the lake Loktak. It the largest of all freshwater lakes in northeast of India. It is popular for its Phumdis. Phumdis look like floating islands but they are actually heterogeneous mass of organic matter, soil and vegetation – all of which are at various stages of decomposition. While on one hand, the lake offers amazing scenic beauty, on the other hand, it is also the lifeline for hundreds of people. The lake provides water for drinking, irrigation and hydropower generation. Not to mention, fishermen are heavily dependent on the lake. The main attraction however is the Keibul Lamjao National Park. Sitting or rather floating on the southwestern side of Loktak lake, this is the only floating national park to be found in entire world. It is the final refuge for Sangai – the Manipuri brow-antlered deer, which is tagged as an endangered species. Sangai also happens to be Manipur’s state animal. The Keibul Lamjao National Park was first, in 1966, declared as a sanctuary. Later in 1977, it was given the status of national park.